An Evening Read
by merlinsmushrooms
Summary: Sometimes when Sofia is unable to sleep she visits a friend of hers in the attic... {{Prompt based birthday present for a friend.}}


Of all the friends she had in the castle, Sofia had grown particularly fond of her ghastly friend Sir Dax as of late. During the nights she was incapable of sleeping, he was always up and haunting the attics - ready to have some fun at the drop of a hat. Tonight was an especially creepy night for her. It had been storming heavily since just before sunset. While thunder and lightning didn't scare the Princess in the slightest, it was still far too noisy for her to rest without being entirely tired. It was the perfect excuse to grab some of her favorite new books and slip herself past the night guards to cozy up for an evening in the rafters with a friend she didn't get to see too often.

"Sir Dax! It's me, Princess Sofia!" she would call to him as she finished climbing the last few steps leading into the attic nook.  
As per usual, Dax had settled himself in an old dusty and rather worn down arm chair he most likely took from another one of the attic storage rooms. The spectre would smile at Sofia as he glanced up from the book he had been reading - a sight that she was delighted to see each time she visited. She had often wondered if there was much else he did with the seemingly infinite free time he had but read. It was what they had always done together and what he always seemed to be doing even during an unannounced visit like tonight's. There was also the question as to where he was getting all these books from...maybe she could finally bring it up tonight? As she secretly though of her questions she would settle herself up on one of the spare chair that had been brought to the room on one of her former requests. To another delight, Sofia would giggle as Boo fluttered down from the ceiling to nest upon her shoulder.

"What'cha bring this time, Princess?" the semi-transparent bat would ask cheerily as he folded his wings across her shoulders in a hug like gesture.

"My school had us pick books to read for a project. We have to write a report on how they make us feel, sooo I picked one about a boy who makes friends with a ghost!"

"My my my. Don't you have excellent taste, Princess Sofia." Dax would chip in with a hearty laugh, placing his book down in the air beside him like there was some sort of invisible table. It had always amused Sofia that Dax's possessions seemed to float much as he did. It had to be magic of some sort! That or maybe the books he had were haunted too? It was all a mystery - but it was one of those mysteries that were funner without an answer.

"And what are you reading tonight?" she'd ask, glancing over the piles of books that had been left scattered around the room in a seemingly organized fashion.

"Ah~ It's a little romance novel I borrowed from another friend of mine. My heart's been hooked into such hopelessness thanks to these as of late~"

Sofia couldn't help but giggle in amusement as Dax responded with his typical flamboyant air. Ghosts read romance novels? That was something unexpected. There was also a small detail that stood out in his exaggerated descriptions that gave her a sudden yet pleasant realization.

"You have another friend? I thought the other ghosts couldn't leave their castles - except every one hundred years, of course."

"My friends aren't **just** ghosts, darling. You're not a ghost - _are you?_ "

How ignorant she was. She knew that at least James had the occasional interaction with Dax but...he wasn't an avid reader. If anything, James acted as if he were allergic to books at times. They two of them didn't really have much in common. It certainly couldn't be him. She also couldn't think of any of the castle servants who weren't terrified of the notion of ghosts. Perhaps one of them had gotten over their fears? Oh - how she had grown so very curious as to who it could be! As she contemplated, Sofia would go to give Boo a little scratch on the noggin - only to have her fingers slip through him as the bat laughed softly into her ear. How could people be so afraid of ghosts? Outside their very first meeting - she had nothing but fun times with Sir Dax and Boo. Even the other ghosts that had been invited to her castle on Halloween all seemed to be pleasant people. Normal people. People they once were and continued to be…

It was then she realized that these people were once _alive._ It didn't upset her, however, and she took solace in the fact that despite his condition...Dax wasn't as lonely as he might have used to be. It made her realize that her company was perhaps more important than she thought before? And maybe he wasn't nearly as lonely as she might have thought if there was at least one other person visiting the both of them from time to time?  
"I'm really happy for you. Friends are important!" she'd state - attempting to break the silence that she had accidentally had started, "I feel like I should...try to use my report to have the others be less afraid of ghosts. So that maybe they could try making friends with them?"

"You've got an unlifetime of stigma to erase, my dear. But if anybody could maybe convince the other children we're not all that scary...it's you."

"I'll do my best!"

Before their conversation had any chance of continuing, a loud thumping echoed from the bottom of the staircase. Somebody was coming - and whoever it was was stomping their way up the stairs with a hurried pace. Sofia's gut churned in fear that perhaps one of the guards had thought there was an intruder upstairs due to any sort of noise Dax and her had been making...but her ghostly companions didn't seem _phased_ in the slightest by the disturbance. They remained entirely visible. The only reaction Dax appearing to have was to scoop up the book he had been reading prior and slipping it between him and the back of the chair he was lounging on, leaning against it in some sort of attempt to perhaps hide it?

" **REGINALD,** " shouted a familiar and mildly accented voice from below.  
 _Mr. Cedric...?_ What was _he_ doing here? As her oddly scraggly sorcerer entered the room, he'd dart instantly towards Sir Dax without any other sort of acknowledgement. The only response Dax would have towards the scuffy man seemed to be to grin nervously at him without so much as a hello. The two wouldn't exchange words at all - instead, Cedric's hand would reach straight through the other man to pluck the book that Dax was leaning against and was definitively attempting to hide in vain. Sofia really couldn't believe her eyes at what was happening. He seemed more annoyed like he usually was rather than explicitly angry but...what was going on? Did Dax borrow 's book without asking? ...That seemed likely.

"Stop stealing my books, ghost!" Cedric would snort as he tucked the novel into a rather large pocket on the inside of his robes, "The least you could do is not take the ones I haven't read yet. I…"  
Cedric's eyes locked onto hers as his expression faltered entirely into a blank stare. Did...he not notice her when he entered the room? Was he just as confused as she was?

"...Princess Sofia? W-What are you doing here?"

"I...was...reading with Sir Dax?

A blink and an agape stare. Cedric would glance between both her and the ghost would a cocked brow. Yup. Just as confused as she was. An attempt at some sort of hand gesture from him was more than enough to show that he was at a loss of words to her. All she would do was return the smile she had former to his intrusion in an attempt to ease whatever nerves he had - a tiny wave wiggling on her fingers towards him.

"Do you want to join us, ?"

 **"N-No."**  
Cedric's arms would fold across his chest as his nose pointed straight upwards in some sort of annoyed display. If such an attitude came from anybody else, perhaps Sofia would be mildly offended...but it was Cedric. It was more funny than anything coming from somebody like him. Always protesting over the littlest things and always being so over-dramatic. Most of the time Sofia just considered him a big child and that line of thinking helped her understand his actions so much easier. It actually made some semblance of sense that Dax and Cedric apparently knew each other prior to now? It seemed like less of a surprise once the thought of the two of them acting so...similar came to her. (Even if Cedric was the more anti-social of the two...)

"Oh, come on ol'chum. Just because the Princess is here tonight doesn't mean you can't spend some time with the both of us."

"I have no intentions of reading children's stories, Reginald."

"Why not? It's half of what you read usually."

Sofia couldn't help but hold back her laughter as Cedric's face flushed a bright red. In an instant, the sorcerer had stormed out the room just as quickly as he appeared - most likely fleeing to escape the embarrassment that Dax had just brushed him with. This was definitely something she'd be remembering in the future - especially when she was bored at his workshop. Maybe she could ease him a bit more by finding out exactly what kind of books he enjoyed? Good things were coming out of all this amusement. Readjusting himself in his seat, Dax would simply reach over to the pile closest to him and pick up the book on the top without even glancing at it - opening it leisurely with a readjustment of his glasses.

"Well - That was quite funny and all, but I do believe we wanted some quiet time to ourselves? Get to your book Sofia. You've got some important work to do!"

"You got it!"


End file.
